NRL 2018
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Warriors charge down the home straight to pip a Green Machine at the finish line.
Never doubted them.
3 and 0 bros: In my preview of the Warriors I wrote that this season would be defined in the first few games. What can be defined now is the Warriors are atop the NRL standings. There is a lot to work on, especially discipline, but they have the fitness, the right attitude and just too many strike weapons for most NRL teams to contain.
But stay away from P: Blake Green said it in his interview with ABC Grandstand (great commentary btw) that the Warriors didn't deserve to win that game because of the large amount of penalties they gave away. It didn't help that Adam Blair got sinbinned inside the first ten minutes, although his exit from the field was entertaining:
The Warriors will be watched carefully by the refs now so need to make a slight change to their defensive style (as I said before, play smart but not dirty).
The real MVP: Harris > Hiku > Fusitua is the best edge attack in the game but the MVP has to go to Shaun Johnson who decided to become Jonny Wilkinson for the last 90 seconds of that match.
What about the other guys?: The Green Machine are feeling a little low. Listening to Sam Williams after the game on ABC Grandstand (I couldn't watch the game but ABC Grandstand was great today with their call) you could tell he wanted to start bawling his little eyes out. The Raiders have no clue how they lost today, or last week, or the week before. Well, they're a massive team who are not fit and the opposition have realised that you just need to have the little guys run around them all day.
But don't blame the refs: A Ricky Stuart press conference is great to watch whenever he loses. He spent five minutes bagging the refs but assured everyone he wasn't bagging the refs, it's just they didn't know what they were doing.
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Snuff out that penalty count and well be legit dangerous. Hopefully they realise we don't need to do the dumb stuff to stay in the game - figured they might take a bit to shake last year's bad habits
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Just saw that. I HATE Manly so good news.
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I was bloody impressed they went the length of the field twice to reach drop goal range. Fitness trainer should be highest paid dude at the club!!
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@paekakboyz said in NRL 2018:
I was bloody impressed they went the length of the field twice to reach drop goal range. Fitness trainer should be highest paid dude at the club!!
Exactly what I was thinking. We are super conditioned at the moment, the raiders were gassed and we looked strong right to the end. Luke looking like the player we thought we bought. When he irons out the stupid penalties Blair can be a menace. The young warriors forwards stood up; Bunty and Lisone were immense. Blake Green is the guy pulling the strings letting Shaun be Shaun. It was a total performance, anytime Kata is quietly doing his thing error free I'm happy. Who knows where this will lead but the Warriors have my attention again. Simon Mannering must be dying to get back in
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@paekakboyz said in NRL 2018:
I was bloody impressed they went the length of the field twice to reach drop goal range. Fitness trainer should be highest paid dude at the club!!
By the same token, how out on their feet were Canberrra? There was one of those play-the-balls during that final set where our ball-runner was a bit ponderous, but their defence was so slow getting off the mark, he made 15-18 crucial metres.
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Plus we still seemed to fight in the tackle, all those extra metres add up! How good is it to be the fit team! 🖒
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@paekakboyz Afoa has been excellent there. he eats a further 3-5 metres with 2 guys in his back.
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Why aren't we talking bout Manly lads 🤣 can't wait to see where this rort investigation leads. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch if piston wristed gibbons imo
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@paekakboyz and yet the Roosters sign whoever they want every year, and sail on their merry way.
What a champion bunch of blokes, playing for unders
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@mariner4life totes bro - Roosters are pretty much a charity team
Funny parallels with the cricket stuff aye. One of those 'rules' that nearly everyone has pushed (or headbutted) over the years, but one that is increasingly coping more attention and harsher punishment, as tolerance for that sort of carry on drops.
They must have utterly labyrinthine systems for accounting for the salary cap - which just makes the 'accidental overspend' claims easier to put forward.
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@paekakboyz can you imagine how lenient they'd be on the Warriors if they were rorting the salary cap....
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@taniwharugby I know! although I do think we have a (weak) case, that being the only NZ based team, a bit more $$ is needed to offset the talent that doesn't want to move out of Oz. But that's highly unlikely... hmmm thinking about that more the Cowboys could play the same game! Open season on banter about playing in a shitty part of Oz
No matter how fucked the system is - it needs to be the same for all. Don't play by the rules? you get smacked. End of.
But is the system to readily rort-able?? or is it that teams will cheat no matter what?? I think it's the latter!!!
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@paekakboyz said in NRL 2018:
Why aren't we talking bout Manly lads 🤣 can't wait to see where this rort investigation leads. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch if piston wristed gibbons imo
Isn't the guy who' was CEO at Manly during their salary cap rort now the CEO of Sydney Roosters?
